In January, the Blaugrana reportedly told Alves to convince Neymar that his future lies in Catalunya, and the 29-year-old has duly obliged.

"I've been at it for ages," Alves told FIFA.com. "When the rumors of him making a move to Europe started I told him he should come to Barcelona.

"They're more than a club. The motto says it all: they look after you, they pamper you and they always treat you and your family well.

"Look, they have got values that virtually no other club has, and that's what makes them unique.

"Everyone says you can't compete with Barcelona, but if you go to the club, you'll see that they work from the bottom up and that's why we've got all these great players.

"If you look at the signings they make, they just buy what they need. The rest of the players are all from the youth set-up. They made a commitment to it and the results are there."

Neymar and Santos have repeatedly stood firm on their stance that the 21-year-old star will not be going anywhere until after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in his native Brazil, despite rampant reported interest from the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, among other big European clubs.